A Farmhouse Dated by the Ridgepole Tablet
The Aihara Family Residence (粟飯原家住宅, Aihara-ke Jūtaku) is a farmhouse at Kuriuno in the Shimobun district of Kamiyama Town, Myōzai District, Tokushima Prefecture, built in 1710 and designated an Important Cultural Property of Japan on 20 May 1976. The official listing carries the location in parentheses to distinguish it in the national register.
The house sits on the lower slope of a hill above the left bank of the upper Akui River, on a broad plot fronted by a stone retaining wall. That wall is the first thing a visitor registers: the ground here climbs steeply away from the river, and the flat terrace the house occupies was made, not found.
Most old farmhouses in Japan are dated by guesswork, style, or family memory. This one is not. A munafuda, a wooden tablet inscribed at the time of construction and fixed near the ridge, survives and gives the year as Hōei 7, corresponding to 1710. The tablet is designated together with the building as a single attached item, and it settles the usual argument over how old a farmhouse really is.
The main structure runs 21.0 metres along the ridge and 9.5 metres across, under a hipped roof now covered in sheet iron. Pent roofs in pantile wrap all four sides, and a small gabled projection, 0.8 metres by 3.8 metres, breaks the rear elevation. The iron sheeting is a later measure. The original roof swept down in an unbroken slope from ridge to eaves.
Six Rooms, and What Six Rooms Meant
The reason this house was designated comes down to its plan. It is a rokumadori, a six-room layout, and in 1710 that was an unusual thing for a farmhouse to be.
Rural houses of the period in this part of Shikoku typically had two or three rooms beside the earth-floored work area. The four-room plan, with rooms arranged in a cross pattern, was only then coming into general use. Six rooms placed the Aihara household well above its neighbours, and the Agency for Cultural Affairs records this as the oldest surviving house with a six-room plan in the district, with the quality of the carpentry to match the ambition of the plan.
The family's standing accounts for the difference. Local tradition holds that the Aihara were sent to Awa Province from Shimōsa in 1351, in the second year of the Kannō era, and served as ōjōya, head village officials, over the six villages of the Kamiyama valley. The house at Kuriuno belonged to a branch of that line. Records suggest the family worked in farming and forestry and also ran a sake brewery during the Edo period.
The plot holds more than the main house. A barn and a storehouse stand within the grounds, giving a sense of a working estate rather than a single dwelling.
Getting There, and What to Expect
This is remote country. Kuriuno lies about 30 kilometres from Tokushima Station, roughly fifty minutes by car up the Akui River valley on Route 438. The drive from the Aizumi interchange on the Tokushima Expressway takes about the same time, as does the run from the Itano interchange on the Takamatsu Expressway. The nearest useful landmark is the Onsen no Sato Kamiyama roadside station, some 4.7 kilometres away, about eight minutes on.
The building remains a private house. The Kamiyama Town list of cultural properties records it as open with prior contact, and gives the Town Board of Education as the point of contact on 088-676-1522. Other guides report that it is not open and that the retaining wall makes the exterior difficult to see from the public road. The sensible course is to telephone the Board of Education before setting out, and to treat any visit as arranged rather than assumed.
Photography follows the same logic. There is no blanket restriction, but the house is somebody's home, and the frame you want is over their wall. Ask.
Kamiyama Town rewards the drive on its own account. The valley has become known over the past two decades for its satellite offices and artist residencies, and the contrast between a 1710 headman's house and a converted workspace a few kilometres downstream is one of the more interesting things in Tokushima Prefecture.
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Q&A
- Can you visit the Aihara Family Residence in Kamiyama Town?
- It is a private residence, and access requires arrangement in advance. The Kamiyama Town cultural properties list marks it as open on prior contact through the Town Board of Education (088-676-1522). Some guides report it as closed, so call before travelling.
- How do you get to the Aihara Family Residence from Tokushima Station?
- By car, about 30 kilometres and fifty minutes up the Akui River valley. The address is 125 Kuriuno, Shimobun, Kamiyama Town. The Onsen no Sato Kamiyama roadside station is about eight minutes away and makes a practical staging point.
- How do we know the Aihara Family Residence was built in 1710?
- A ridgepole tablet, or munafuda, inscribed at the time of building survives and records the year as Hōei 7. The tablet is designated alongside the house as an attached item, which is why the dating is treated as documented rather than estimated.
- What makes the Aihara Family Residence important enough to designate?
- Its six-room plan. Ordinary farmhouses of the period had two or three rooms, and the four-room plan was only becoming established. This is recorded as the oldest six-room house in the district, and its scale reflects the family's position as village officials.
- Is the roof of the Aihara Family Residence original?
- No. The hipped roof is now clad in sheet iron, with pantiled pent roofs on all four sides. The original covering ran down in a single unbroken slope, and the metal sheeting is a later protective measure.
Basic Information
| Name | Aihara Family Residence (粟飯原家住宅), Kamiyama Town, Myōzai District, Tokushima Prefecture |
|---|---|
| Location | 125 Kuriuno, Shimobun, Kamiyama Town, Myōzai District, Tokushima Prefecture |
| Designation | Important Cultural Property (designation no. 02007) |
| Year Designated | 20 May 1976 |
| Quantity | 1 building, with 1 attached ridgepole tablet |
| Dimensions | 21.0 m along the ridge by 9.5 m across; rear projection 0.8 m by 3.8 m |
| Owner | Private (not recorded in the national database) |
| Public Access | Private residence. Prior contact with the Kamiyama Town Board of Education required |
References
- Agency for Cultural Affairs — National Cultural Properties Database: Aihara Family Residence
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/heritage/detail/102/3267
- Cultural Heritage Online — Aihara Family Residence
- https://online.bunka.go.jp/heritages/detail/124074
- Kamiyama Town — List of Cultural Properties
- https://www.town.kamiyama.lg.jp/docs/2025070800181/
- Kamiyama Town — Important Cultural Property: Aihara Family Residence
- https://www.town.kamiyama.lg.jp/enjoy/map/docs/2025061900029/
- Awa Navi — Tokushima Prefecture Tourism Information: Aihara Family Residence
- https://www.awanavi.jp/spot/20389.html
Last verified: 2026.08.23